Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)

I welcome the fact that the Minister accepted a key amendment I moved earlier on behalf of the Labour Party. The formula he has arrived at comes a good deal closer to the introduction of mandatory testing for collisions, accidents involving serious injury and tragic fatalities. I warmly commend the PARC road safety group, a group of activists which has campaigned so steadfastly for improvements in road traffic legislation in recent years, all the leaders of which have suffered terrible tragedies.

These sections remind us of what we are trying to do, that is, to reform fundamentally the law and to change the culture of drinking and driving. We should not forget that the Minister represented us yesterday at the award ceremony where Estonia and ourselves received recognition for the fall in the level of deaths and casualties on our roads during recent years. However, the figures for recent months are disturbing. The data for May of this year were almost as bad as for May 2009, with only one less casualty. There have been tragic cases of young men in particular involved in one person vehicle collisions and who have lost their lives in recent times.

We are aware from the work of our experts, including Dr. Declan Bedford, that alcohol has been a factor in 37% of fatal collisions, that 42% of drivers who died had alcohol levels deemed to be a contributory factor and that 34% of killed drivers were over the then legal limit. We are also aware that 92% of survivors were not tested for alcohol in their systems. This is the system we are trying to change. We do not want those circumstances to occur again. I urge the Minister to consider the amendments.

The Minister is sticking with the phrase "is of the opinion". I am a member of the Garda Forum for Dublin city and Fingal County. The Commissioner of the Garda Síochána appeared before the Committee of Public Accounts last week. I inquired generally about the view of the force on this issue. There is a view that there must be some discretion. I believe this could be best formulated on the basis of the Northern Ireland legislation in which the term "suspects or having reasonable cause to suspect" seems to give a stronger version of the term "is of the opinion" or that used in the previous legislation, "forms the opinion", which we believed to be rather problematic. A formula involving "suspects" would still give a slight flexibility. Deputy Ahern referred to minor tips on the road and so on during the previous debate. We should ensure drivers involved in collisions are tested and that there is mandatory testing.

One last time I call on the Minister to consider whether he could make the language stronger with regard to mandatory testing. Ultimately, the whole discussion has been about forming a different culture. If one wishes to enjoy a drink that is fair enough but, as Dr. Bedford's research shows, it is not possible to drive safely afterwards. His research also shows that if there is a blood alcohol level of greater than 0.04%, there is impairment. We want to change that to bring our limits into line. On Committee Stage, we heard that the UK Government, through the North Commission, was going to introduce the 0.05% limit as well. All other countries in the European Union have a limit of at least 0.02% or below. Some have 0.0% which seems very difficult to manage. Most countries have a limit of 0.02%. We are planning to move to 0.05% and the UK appears destined to follow us.

I call on the Minister to make the formula "is of the opinion" stronger to ensure mandatory testing. We seek mandatory testing for collisions. It is necessary for a new culture of driving in the country and to avoid the shocking tragedies that have occurred. Even this year, the death figures stand at 93 or 94. Each one of these cases represents an appalling personal tragedy and devastation for a family and we should never forget that fundamental point. As Gay Byrne, the chairman of the Road Safety Authority, stated yesterday when he accompanied the Minister, we need to get the number of fatalities as low as possible. Strictly speaking, no one should die in a form of transport; that is ridiculous. We should aim for zero fatalities and this is our purpose tonight. This is an important step we must take.

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